Robert Huth will continue to receive a warm welcome at Stoke City - but Gary Rowett insists there are still no commitments from either party about a permanent reunion.

Huth is expected to feature in a friendly against Walsall tomorrow afternoon and could travel with the squad for a training camp in Germany on Monday.

Rowett does want extra numbers in central defence and the 33-year-old, who has been looking sharp in pre-season after leaving Leicester, remains a firm fans’ favourite at the bet365 Stadium.

Robert Huth is back at Stoke City for training after leaving Leicester City. (Image: Mark Scott)

He said: “I’ll have a chat with Robert to see if we will take him out to Germany with us as part of the training to help him.

“I think Robert had contacted someone at the club and asked if he could come and train so I had a conversation with him and it was as simple as, ‘There’s no strings attached for either party but come in and train, we’ll get you involved – we’re a little bit short in terms of numbers in that area anyway, with (Kevin) Wimmer and (Kurt) Zouma going out of the building at the end of last season.’

“So yeah, that’s what it is. We’ll try to help him and that’s where we are at the moment. I don’t think there’s any real rush to make a decision or that we’ve got to sign him in the next week or anything like that.

“It’s literally, he’s coming in to train, we’ll see how it is for both parties and we’ll assess it as we go along.”

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Rowett still wants to bring in four or five new players with an emphasis on character as well as quality.

He said: “I think it’s a very strong squad and we have lots of players who in different divisions in the world would be top, top players.

“What we’re trying to do is build a squad that has the characteristics to handle a season in the Championship and be successful. There’s a difference between the two.

“I’ve got a good handle on what we need. I’ve been very happy with the work ethic of everybody and we’ll continue to assess that.

“I don’t think you ever make snap judgements within a couple of weeks but at the same time…– I’m trying to be respectful here and not single players out and say I don’t really fancy him! That’s not how I work – there may be some players in the squad that might see their future elsewhere.

“We will find out over the next few weeks.”

Geoff Cameron is put through his paces on a hot training day at Stoke City. (Image: Phil Radcliffe)